Occupational Noise Exposure and Diabetes Risk.

Introduction: Noise is one of the most common worldwide environmental pollutants, especially in occupational fields. As a stressor, it affects not only the ear but also the entire body. Its physiological and psychological impacts have been well established in many conditions such as cardiovascular diseases. However, there is a dearth of evidence regarding diabetes risk related to noises. Aim: To evaluate the relationship between occupational exposure to noise and the risk of developing diabetes. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analytical study enrolling two groups of 151 workers each. The first group (noise exposed group: EG) included the employees of a Tunisian power plant, who worked during the day shift and had a permanent position. The second group (unexposed to noise group: NEG) included workers assigned to two academic institutions, who were randomly selected in the Occupational Medicine Department of the Farhat Hached University Hospital in Sousse, during periodical fitness to work visits. Both populations (exposed and unexposed) were matched by age and gender. Data collection was based on a preestablished questionnaire, a physical examination, a biological assessment, and a sonometric study. Results: The mean equivalent continuous sound level was 89 dB for the EG and 44.6 dB for the NEG. Diabetes was diagnosed in 24 workers from EG (15.9%) and 14 workers from NEG (9.3%), with no statistically significant difference (p=0.08). After multiple binary logistic regression, including variables of interest, noise did not appear to be associated with diabetes. Conclusion: Our results did not reveal a higher risk of developing diabetes in workers exposed to noise. Further studies assessing both level and duration of noise exposure are needed before any definitive conclusion.

Explicitly correlated potential energy surface of the CH3Cl-He van der Waals complex and applications.

A new 3D-potential energy surface (3D-PES) for the weakly bound CH3Cl-He complex is mapped in Jacobi coordinates. Electronic structure calculations are performed using the explicitly correlated coupled clusters with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations approach in conjunction with the aug-cc-pVTZ basis set. Then, an analytical expansion of this 3D-PES is derived. This PES shows three minimal structures for collinear C-Cl-He arrangements and for He located in between two H atoms, in the plane parallel to the three H atoms, which is near the center of mass of CH3Cl. The latter form corresponds to the global minimum. Two maxima are also found, which connect the minimal structures. We then evaluated the pressure broadening coefficients of the spectral lines of CH3Cl in a helium bath based on our ab initio potential. Satisfactory agreement with experiments was observed, confirming the good accuracy of our 3D-PES. We also derived the bound rovibronic levels for ortho- and para-CH3Cl-He dimers after quantum treatment of the nuclear motions. For both clusters, computations show that although the ground vibrational state is located well above the intramolecular isomerization barriers, the rovibronic levels may be associated with a specific minimal structure. This can be explained by vibrational localization and vibrational memory effects.

Prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders among Tunisian nurses.

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal problems depict essentially the most worrying difficulties inside work health today. AIMS: To evaluate the prevalence of musculoskeltal issues and to search relationships with individual characteristics and work-related risk factors among two public hospitals nurses in Sousse. METHODS: It is a descriptive-correlational investigation based on a self-administered questionnaire destined for all nurses working in two public hospitals of Sousse. The potential risk of musculoskeletal issues was examined by logistical regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) over the last twelve months was 48.1%. Musculoskeletal problems developed mainly in low back (68.5%), upper back (36.9%), and knees (34.5%). The Chi-square test indicated that MSD is associated with female gender (p = 0.01), being single (p = 0.013), high BMI (p <0.001), seniority (p =0.001), repetitive work (p = 0.004), prolonged standing position (p = 0.007), intense physical effort (p <0.001), lifting heavy loads (p = 0.002), uncomfortable position (p = 0.008) and low social support (p <0.001). The logistic regression analysis showed that intense physical exertion (OR= 7.72, 95% CI: 2.98 - 19.97) and job-strain (OR= 3.24, 95% CI: 2.98 - 19.97) represent risk factors related to MSD. CONCLUSION: A high amount of Tunisian nursing staff in this survey complained of musculoskeletal issues considering the low back pain most often affected. Education courses on prevention and coping approaches for musculoskeletal problems are appropriate for nurses as a way to minimize the rate of work risks and even promote performance patient care.

Impact of Allergic Contact Dermatitis on the Quality of Life and Work Productivity.

BACKGROUND: Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a common chronic skin disease that generates considerable public-health and socioeconomic costs. This disease affects the quality of life and the occupational activity of patients. AIMS: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients with ACD and study the impact of this disease on their work productivity. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study carried out from January 2012 to December 2014. All patients diagnosed with ACD in the Dermato-Allergology Unit of the Occupational Medicine Department at Farhat Hached University Hospital, in Sousse, were included. The impact of skin disease on the QOL of affected persons was assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). The work productivity was measured using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Allergic Specific questionnaire (WPAI: AS). RESULTS: The study population consisted of 150 patients. The average score of DLQI was 6.5. Over the previous 7 days, absenteeism rate was 25.9 ± 15.3%, presenteeism rate was 50.2 ± 32%, overall work productivity loss was 29.6 ± 19.4%, and daily activity impairment was 50.4 ± 32.3%. The DLQI score was significantly associated with atopy (p = 0.03), relapses strictly greater than 10 (p = 0.02), presenteeism (p <10-3), overall work productivity loss (p = 0.01), and daily activity impairment (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The impact of ACD on QOL and occupational activity seems important and requires specific attention from the occupational physician.

[Specificities of occupational asthma in women and its interactions with hormonal status]. / Spécificités de l'asthme professionnel chez les femmes et son interaction avec le statut hormonal.

BACKGROUND: Occupational asthma (OA) is described as the most common respiratory disease in industrialized countries. A female predominance characterizes many populations of asthmatic workers. Differences in occupational exposures by gender as well as hormonal variations could affect OA in women. PURPOSE: To identify the socio-occupational and medical characteristics of OA in women compared to men and to investigate a possible hormonal influence on OA in women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study, based on medical records of out patients of the Department of Occupational Medicine during the period between 1st January 2009 and 30 June 2016 for OA completed by a phone call to collect missing data. RESULTS: Over 222 cases of OA, a female predominance was noted (60.81%), which was predominantly in the textile sector (61.5%). Clinically, men had more exercise dyspnea and wheezing, whereas the association with rhinitis was significantly greater in women. The majority of women with asthma had irregular menstrual cycles (46.2%), they were multiparous in 54%, menopaused in 13% of cases with a mean age of menarche of 12±1.65 years. A worsening of OA was noted in 58% of women during their perimenstrual period, 75% during pregnancy and 14% of women when taking hormonal contraceptives. In asthmatic women, only the presence of non-specific bronchial hyperreactivity was significantly associated with menarche age (P=0.007). CONCLUSION: Differences between men and women in OA with variability of symptoms during female genital life have been identified. Further studies to personalized care strategies for women need to be undertaken.

Semi-classical calculations of self-broadening coefficients of OCS and HCN at temperatures between 200 K and 298 K.

For some temperatures of atmospheric interest from 200 to 298 K, the self-broadening coefficients of OCS-OCS and HCN-HCN collisional systems, at different strengths of electrostatic interactions, were calculated respectively for ν1 and ν2 bands for a wide range of rotational quantum numbers J. In particular, we have considered some lines that were not studied previously. We have employed the approximation of bi-resonance functions (Starikov, 2012) in the frame of the semiclassical model of Robert and Bonamy with exact trajectory (RBE). The calculated results are found to be fully consistent with the available experimental values of self-broadening coefficients of OCS and HCN. A comparative study shows that the RBE calculations reproduce the dependence of broadening coefficients on quantum number J much better than the simpler Robert and Bonamy model with parabolic trajectory (RB) for all considered temperatures.

Experimental and theoretical study of line mixing in NH3 spectra. II. Effect of the perturber in infrared parallel bands.

In a previous paper [J. Chem. Phys. 116, 7544 (2002) (Paper I)] a model, based on the energy corrected sudden approximation, was proposed for the construction of the line-mixing relaxation matrix. It was successfully tested by comparisons with measured infrared spectra of ammonia-helium mixtures. The present paper extends this preliminary study by considering mixtures of NH3 with H2 and Ar. Measurements have been made at room temperature in the regions of the nu2 and nu1 bands for pressures up to several hundred atmospheres. As in Paper I, the relaxation operator is constructed, within the impact approximation, using the ECS approximation. The data required are dynamical factors (which can be predicted from the NH3-X potential energy surface) and a scaling length (adjusted using line broadening data). Comparisons between measured and calculated absorptions demonstrate the quality of the model which satisfactory corrects for the large deviations with respect to the purely Lorentzian behavior. Line-mixing effects for NH3-Ar and NH3-H2 are qualitatively similar to those observed for NH3-He but quantitative differences exist, particularly when intra- and interbranch couplings are considered. Finally, the proposed model leads to very satisfactory results in the wings of both the purely rotational and nu2 bands of NH3 diluted in H2, opening promising perspectives for the remote sensing study of planetary atmospheres.

H(2)-Broadening Coefficients in the nu(4) Band of NH(3).

H(2)-broadening coefficients have been measured for 66 rovibrational lines of NH(3) at room temperature in the (P)P and (R)P branches of the nu(4) band in the range 1470-1600 cm(-1), using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer. The collisional widths are obtained by fitting Voigt profiles to the measured shapes of the lines. The broadening coefficients are found to decrease on the whole as J increases and they increase with K for a given J value. The results are compared with those calculated from a semiclassical model in which the inversion vibration of NH(3) and collision-induced transitions with DeltaK = 0 and DeltaK = +/- 3 are taken into account. The intermolecular potential used includes electrostatic, induction, and dispersion energy contributions. The calculations performed by considering only DeltaK = 0 transitions provide significantly lower broadenings but with a satisfactory J and K dependence. The same trends are obtained for the broadening coefficients in inversion-rotation transitions and in the Q branch of the nu(1) parallel band of NH(3). Copyright 2001 Academic Press.